by PK Allen
(I welcome PK Allen as my first guest blogger! He has been a participant in some of my writing Workshops.)
With all the hype over personal trainers and gym memberships and jogging, for God’s sake, why has no one promoted the cardio-vascular benefits of writing? Gnashing of teeth, tearing of hair, rending of garments in search of the perfect word ––all these thrashings about contribute to our physical well being. Who needs crunches and squats? We lug our bulging laptops in and out of Starbucks, day after day, stooping to plug and unplug. We suffer endless reps, table to lips, table to lips––hoisting the dead weight of a giant latte. Doesn’t your body just tingle?
Those in Roy’s Life Story classes have the added benefit of emotional wind sprints: stretching recall to the breaking point in search of that one time when your Dad looked at you with pride behind his eyes, gulping and sobbing as you recreate the moment on the page, racing to get it down before the memory dims. Then jolting to a standstill when you realize that was just one of such looks. You were just too pissed to notice. Then, brick by brick, rebuilding your gloomy self-image from the bottom up, this time in the light of understanding.
Writing is a workout. Don’t let anyone tell you different. Is there anything heavier than a rejection slip? And how many of those do we have to handle? If you start to feel a little stale or dispirited, simply add a bit to your routine. Walk (don’t ride) all the way up to the counter and order another latte. This time with the whipped crème.
PK Allen, pka1943@sbcglobal.net
